Bhawanipatna, Jan 13 (PTI) Miscreants torched three vehicles of a local contractor and put up fake Maoist posters in Odisha’s Kalahandi district, police said on Tuesday.
According to the police, miscreants set fire to three vehicles parked in the warehouse of the contractor, located on the Rupra Road–Chatamahal Road, about 10 km from Narla police station on Monday night.
Posters bearing Maoist symbols were found affixed at the premises along with threatening letters demanding Rs 35 lakh and warning of serious consequences in case of non-payment. The letters also contained threats against an individual, the police said.
A police team from Narla police station rushed to the spot and initiated an investigation. Preliminary enquiry revealed that the language used in the posters does not match that typically employed by Maoist organisations, said a police officer.
“Upon careful verification and analysis of the posters affixed at the spot, it was found that the said posters are fake Maoist posters,” the police officer said.
“There is no movement of Maoists in the Narla area. The contents, style of writing, language used and method of propaganda are not consistent with the known modus operandi of Maoist organisations,” said Kalahandi SP Nagaraj Devarakonda.
Therefore, the Maoist angle appears to be fabricated, seemingly intended to create fear in public and to misguide police investigation, he said.
“It seems that some local miscreants have committed the crime. We are conducting a proper investigation to identify the persons involved in it,” the SP told reporters.
Earlier in October last year, an FIR was registered at Narla police station on the report of the same contractor, who had received a letter claiming to be from a Maoist committee, demanding ransom and threatening dire consequences in case of non-payment.
During the investigation of the earlier case, the accused was found to be a family member of the complainant, police said.
The contractor’s son was behind the incident, and he was arrested and forwarded to the court.
About one month ago, the high court granted him bail, and he was released from custody. At present, he is residing at his home, they said. PTI COR BBM BBM RG
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